title: Perception of cardiovascular risk following a percutaneous coronary intervention: a cross sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An individual's perception of the risk of, and their susceptibility to, future cardiovascular events is crucial in engaging in effective secondary prevention.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the perception of a cardiovascular event by examining the level of agreement between individuals with CHD views of their actual and perceived risk.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study examined the individual's perception of the risk of a subsequent cardiac event among 220 patients hospitalised for a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) at a metropolitan, tertiary referral hospital in Sydney, Australia. Baseline clinical and demographic characteristics were collected, and actual risk (Personal Risk Score) calculated based on the presence or absence of nine cardiovascular risk factors: diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, cigarette smoking, previous history of CHD, family history of CHD, depression, overweight or obesity, and physical inactivity. Perception of risk was determined using an investigator-developed 4-item, 11-point Likert scale instrument (Perceived Heart Risk Questionnaire--PHRQ) which measured two dimensions of health threat: perceived seriousness, and perceived susceptibility. The correlation between the Personal Risk Score and the PHRQ was assessed using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The calculated mean Personal Risk Score was 4.63±1.71 and the PHRQ was 25.5±7.04. The correlation between the Personal Risk Score (actual risk) and the PHRQ (perceived risk) was r=0.26 (p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The weak relationship between actual and perceived risk is of concern, particularly in a population at higher risk for future cardiovascular events. Implementing strategies to personalise risk should be explored to improve the accuracy of risk perception, and facilitate tailoring of behaviour change strategies.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cardiovascular & Chronic Care, Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Health, University of Technology Sydney, St Vincent's Hospital, Australia. p.davidson@curtin.edu.au
authors.forename: Patricia M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: Yenna
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Salamonson
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rolley
authors.forename: Bronwyn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Everett
authors.forename: Ritin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Andrew
authors.forename: Phillip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Newton
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Frost
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Denniss
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires